Closing Time
by Moonlit Eyes
Summary: TAITOYAMACHI! AU Taichi is a former soccer star turned bartender, Yamato is a former rock star singing at Taichi's work, both hated each other in highschool...but what about now?
1. Closing Time by Semisonic

Closing Time

by Moonlit Eyes

**Warnings**: Shounen-ai (do I ever write anything but?)

This is an AU, Alternate Universe. Imagine how life might've been like if the digidestined didn't...well...become digidestined.

**A/N**: Well at least I learned a lesson from King of Hearts and will never attempt a murder mystery again. It hurts my head when I don't concentrate on fluff. j/k Anywayz... Time to share my playlist with the world!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon...not even Sonya since technically she's a digidestined too.

* * *

Prologue  
Closing Time by Semisonic  
"_Every new beginning comes  
__From some other beginning's end..._"

Taichi stood in the middle of the spotlight, his eyes closed, and he swore he could still hear them. The crowd, the fans, chanting out his name as he kicked the winning goal in and marking his place in Odaiba High School history as the student who scored the most goals in school history, the student who helped his team by being the captain who took them to nationals, the player who was the most wanted by every university team in the nation. He had made his face known on almost every high school sports magazine in the country. And his life had been set the second he made that goal in the finals at nationals while standing in the spotlight. In the spotlight, just like he was now.

"Hey, Taichi-sempai! You done sweeping the stage? I want to close up and get out of here!" Sonya's reached the stage in the same loud and demanding tones she usually used. Taichi sighed as his memories were forced into the back of his head and he came crashing back into reality. No longer was he living life to the fullest on a large green field, wearing his team uniform proudly, and being Taichi the Soccer Star. Now he was just Taichi the Bartender, working 6 to 2 every night Tuesday to Saturday. Taichi who served up drinks to his customers and cleaned up after them before going home.

"Damn that's depressing," he muttered to himself before walking towards the light controls and flicking off the spotlights, trying to forget the limp that he'd grown accustomed to the past three years. He hated think about 'what if' but couldn't stop himself. What if he was still a soccer star? What if he didn't walk in front of that car that night? What if they could have fixed his knee?

"Are you okay, Taichi-sempai?" Sonya smiled as he came to stand next to her. Sonya started out an exchange student from Russia that went to Odaiba High School with him. She eventually moved back to Japan a year after they graduated and ended up working with Taichi on the same shift. Sonya was one of the few people Taichi talked to after high school, though he did wish she was still polite and sweet like she used to be. Instead she ended up being corrupted by a sister of Hikari's friend, Miyako.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's lock up," he indicted to the keys in her hand.

"Okay."

They both locked the door and walked up the steps that led down to their place of work, passing the sign that read 'Oblivion' in proud red letters.

Yamato stared at his guitar. Then at the card in his hand. Then back at his guitar. Back and forth, back and forth, before sighing and leaning back into his couch. His raised the card up into the air and read the loud red letters on a black lace pattern.

**Yamato Ishida, former lead of the Teenage Wolves  
****LIVE at Obsidian  
****Fri and Sat ONLY in July!**

He sighed again. The blond really didn't know why he let his younger brother convince him to sing again. It had been two years since the band broke up. Though it had started because of a disagreement between his bassist and drummer, he knew it was coming and he never planned on continuing his singing career when the Teenage Wolves were no more. Frankly he didn't know if he could make it by himself. What was Yamato Ishida without the rest of the pack?

"Whatever, I'm not trying for a record contract or anything. Just a small gig at a bar to make you happy, okay?" That's what he had told Takeru, but now he was regretting it. He just hoped that his new songs were appreciated.

TBC

* * *

WOO! A new fic already? Geez, I'm quick! Jokes...anywayz, till next time. 

OH! And Sonya really was a digidestined. Remember when they all went around the world in Digimon 02? She was from Russia...I think. All I really remember for sure about her was that her partner was Snimon since that's really fun to say.


	2. Feeling the Same Way by Norah Jones

It feels wrong to write without putting _something _here...anywayz...

* * *

Closing Time  
by Moonlit Eyes  
Chapter One  
Feeling The Same Way by Norah Jones  
"_And I'm feeling the same way all over again  
__Feeling the same way all over again  
__Singing the same lines all over again  
__No matter how much I pretend_"

Taichi was in a very bad mood. He hadn't been this mad since his last birthday when Hikari's friend, Daisuke, got in a 'mock fight' with some blond kid and ended up breaking Taichi's TV...during the World Cup! Though how they had done so with a plastic fork, Taichi will never know.

But that's beside the point, and the point is that Taichi was in a very bad mood.

It all started this morning. He did the usual Friday thing and got up early to spend the first few hours of the afternoon (and that was so early) to whine at Sora, one out of three of his roommates, about how he didn't want to go to work when it was such a nice day out. She then would have replied with the usual, "if you got up earlier, you'd be able to enjoy the nice day. Besides 'day' will almost be over when you get to work, right?" He would have grumbled about how girls just didn't get 'it' and then watched television for a while, but today just didn't feel like being normal.

"Oh, I know why you don't want to go to work," Koushiro said before Sora could make her usual comment. That had gotten Taichi's attention. "Ishida is singing there tonight, right?" That was it. That one question was the first nail on that beautiful July day's coffin. Ishida, as in Yamato Ishida, was possibly the only person on Earth who Taichi just could not stand. The only person Taichi went out his way to make sure everyone knew what a jerk he thought the guy was. Needless to say, they spent most of middle school and high school trying to 'get even,' though not many people understood what the two felt made them uneven.

"WHAT?" Taichi had screamed before nearly falling off the couch to lean towards his friend. He had to have been lying. There was no way _that guy_ was corrupting his workspace.

"Um... yeah, your boss has been advertising it." Koushiro hadn't looked so comfortable by that time.

"Oh no, uh uhn, no way!" Taichi then pulled out his cell phone and preceded to call Sonya to confirm that Koushiro was learning how to make bad jokes. She ended up saying the same thing that Koushiro did...

"What do you mean I was there when he announced it!" Taichi dramatically waved his arms in the air. 'He' was none other than his boss, Yoshiyuki Itou. A man that once he decided something was going to be a certain way, it'd better be that way or else.

"_I mean, you were at the meeting when they said that Ishida would be performing at the bar. When I tried to talk to you about it, you just did that thing you do when you're not really paying attention. I just figured you were trying to forget about it,_" Taichi could practically feel her shrug over the phone.

"Yeah, well..." Taichi sputtered for a couple of seconds before coming up with something to say, "I don't like it so there!" Yeah, play it like the 21 year-old you are, Yagami. He growled before sliding to the floor by the television. "And I won't be nice to the bastard either."

"_Okay, I guess I'll be the youngest worker there after Mr. Itou fires you for fist fighting the entertainment. Can I have your apron, by the way? I don't like the frills on the female version I got._"

"Oh great Sonya, thanks for the support. Means a lot," Taichi said sarcastically.

"_No prob! I am here to please after all. See ya at work!_" He said goodbye to her as well, then hung up. Using every ounce of his 'kicked puppy' performance, he sat across from Sora and Koushiro while making sure to keep eye contact with at least one of them at all times.

"What do you expect us to do, Tai?" Sora answered moodily. "The way you were yelling at Sonya it's obvious that it's your own fault that you're being surprised."

"Sora's right, Taichi. You really should pay attention during staff meetings," Koushiro added. "It might be extremely critical information that you miss one day if you don't."

"Geez, some friends you are. You're suppose to console me in this time of great despair." The brunette played the part of wounded friend.

"Ooh, big words, Tai!" Sora teased. Taichi glared back.

"Where's Mimi? She'll be sympathetic," he mumbled while resting his chin on the kitchen table.

"What? You really want to chance her trying to cheer you up with a friendly shopping trip?" Koushiro said a little horrified, though Taichi was sure he was expressing the same feelings. They learned very quickly that any type of shopping was to be done very far, far away from Mimi Tachikawa.

"Ugh, you're right. Almost forgot. Americans are scary." Taichi sighed and slumped into his chair. Then sat up as if remembering something. "I could call Hikari! She's my little sister, she--"

"--is at school." Sora pointed out.

"Pfft, how inconsiderate!" Taichi huffed.

"Yeah, those high schoolers these days. Who do they think they are? Trying to get educations and what not." Sora added sarcastically causing Koushiro to chuckle and Taichi to glare.

"Funny, very funny."

---

"Where is it! It's here, I know it is!" A certain musician yelled while throwing apart everything in his closet. His lucky blue button down shirt was missing, the very same one he wore whenever he felt like he needed it. It was like his security blanket... only lucky.

"What's here?" Yamato spun around and saw the source of the voice.

"Takeru! Do you know where my blue shirt it?"

"Your security blanket? Why do you need it?" Takeru smirked at his brother's glare.

"It's not my security blanket, don't call it that!" Yamato growled out before noticing they weren't alone. "Hey, who's the girl?"

'The girl' giggled, "I'm Hikari, silly."

"Oh?" Yamato looked closer. "Sorry, it's been a while. You've grown up a little and I guess it's hard to tell without you wearing that camera like usual."

"It's in my school bag." She held up said school bag, the brothers looked at each other amused.

"So, you're still coping with being that jerk's brother? Or have you finally seen the light? You know, what's his face." Yamato went back to searching.

"Quite acting like you don't obsess about him, bro. His name is Taichi." Takeru answered since Hikari only shook her head.

"Yeah, yeah," Yamato mumble half heartedly.

"It's been years since high school and still both of you can't let it go." Hikari sighed.

"_It _has been going on since that jerk nearly destroyed my harmonica at summer camp." Yamato snapped.

"You were eleven, let it go!" Takeru said exasperated, throwing up his arms. "Besides don't you have better things to think about right now? Like your thing tonight?"

"That's why I'm looking for my shirt! Besides, you're right."

"I am?"

"Yeah, I have better things to think about than arrogant jocks like...like _that guy_." Yamato's voice could be heard making a few curses and calling Hikari's brother a couple of unfriendly names, but most of it was muffled since he was now deeper into the cave of wonders, a.k.a. Yamato Ishida's closet.

"I give up!" Takeru shared a look with Hikari. If they got along so well for so long, why couldn't their siblings? "Anyway, I have to go meet my other friends somewhere. I just stopped by to tell you that mom invited you for dinner Tuesday." Yamato stuck out an arm and waved. "And that your shirt is underneath your mattress." Takeru and Hikari left without waiting for a reply.

"What?" Yamato looked behind him but they were gone. "I looked there already." He walked over to his bed and lifted the mattress to find his prize. "How the hell did he know that?" Deciding that thinking about how his younger brother's knack for knowing these things was just going to give him a headache (the boy _was_ in high school after all, and who knows how those kids think these days) Yamato put on his shirt and decided to rehearse his choice of songs for that night.

His songs were all new. Nothing that he sang with The Teenage Wolves. It wouldn't feel right without his band there with him, and, since that was as likely as Santa showing up on his doorstep this fine July day, the older songs were now all retired.

"Okay, time to tune my baby up," he smiled as he sat down and picked up his acoustic guitar, Penny Lane. The feeling that washed over him as he went through the usual motions of getting himself ready for a show was one that he hadn't realized how much he missed till now.

Maybe he should thank Takeru later for making him do this again?

---

Taichi ran into the kitchen while trying to button his vest and tuck in his shirt at the same time. "Hey, Mimi, thanks for making me a snack." He gave her a half hug before stepping back and doing the third and last button. "Do I look okay?"

"You're looking great, as usual," Mimi said before shaking her head dramatically. "Will you ever be on time!"

"Hey! I'm always on time," Taichi stood up straight, "I'm just never early is all."

"Yeah, yeah." Mimi laughed. "It's a good thing I live here. If I weren't then not only would you never remember the time, but you'd be forced to eat Sora's cooking and we all know how that would turn out."

"Yeah, she'd burn it because she would be too busy yelling at me," Taichi laughed. "Don't worry, Mimi, just one bite of _your_ cooking and I'm way too grateful you moved in with us."

"Oh stop it, you two! You both talk like newlyweds." Sora walked into the kitchen.

"Sora? What are you doing here? I thought you were working at your mom's flower shop today." Taichi straightened his cuffs and looked in the mirror. Black slacks showing no sign of not being ironed today? Check. Black vest on straight? Check. White collar dress shirt not bunched up funny in places? Check. Hair good? Check. Black tie on just right enough to not piss off boss? Check.

"Wrong question, Taichi." He looked over questioningly at his amused friend.

"What?"

"You're supposed to ask about the time so I could watch you freak out," Sora shook her disapprovingly as Taichi looked at the clock and cried out in surprise.

"Shit, I'm late!" Taichi cursed and went over to the door. Grabbing his jacket and slipping on his shoes in record time and a second later you would have missed him slamming the door if you blinked.

"Geez, that guy. I keep trying to tell him that television programs are a bad way to tell time, but he'll never learn. I don't even know why he insists on not using a clock like a normal person," Sora complained while shaking her head. She looked up at Mimi with a frustrated look and smiled. "So, what's for dinner?"

---

"Alright, you have a good half hour before you start. Everything is set up so just meek me by the stage ten minutes before you start. So hang around. Just don't get drunk, I won't let you even touch the stage if you're loaded, got me?" Mr. Itou said in his usual 'I'm a nice guy just don't mess with me' attitude.

"Yeah, I got you." Yamato replied.

"Good, now go on. I have a call to make." The older man smiled and opened his office door to let Yamato out. Yamato just nodded before stepping out and heading to the bar.

"So, what'll it be?" The light blond at the bar asked. He looked her over for a second before recognizing her.

"Hey, you went to school with me, right? Sonya, from Russia."

"Got it in one." She smiled. "So what to drink, Ishida?"

"How much for a cola?" His hand hovered over his wallet before Yamato realized she was shaking her head.

"For you? On the house, this time anyway." Yamato raised a brow at her answer but took the drink anyway. "Y'know, Ishida? I always wanted to ask but was your mom or dad a foreigner or something? I mean don't get me wrong, but dirty blond hair and blue eyes aren't really the usual for the locals here, right?"

"Yeah, my dad was in the military and came to Japan on duty. He met my mom while she was working at the local ramen shop and they fell in love. Thus me and my also blond, blue eyed brother." He answered smoothly while taking a drink from his soda.

"Really?" She leaned forward interested.

"No, but it's more intriguing than the truth." Yamato shrugged. Sonya laughed. He was about to say something more when he caught something that shocked him behind her. "Oh no," he managed out and before she could investigate a voice called out to her.

"Sorry about leaving you like that, Sonya. I didn't mean to take that long but I kinda got held back." Taichi Yagami said cheerfully, not noticing just who is was Sonya was talking to. He walked around her and finished tying his long apron around his waist. "So who are you--well damn."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Yamato forced himself not to yell.

"I work here. What's your excuse?" Taichi grounded out through clenched teeth. Yamato's eyes traveled up to Taichi's hair and noticed that while still large enough to stand out, it was definitely shorter than how it was worn in school.

"So what? Does your hair shrink with age or something? Does that mean you'll be bald by thirty?" The singer said casually. Taichi looked ready to start something more physical.

"Why you..."

"My life is over!" Said a new guy as he sat down a few barstools to Yamato's right. Taichi and Sonya shared a knowing look, Yamato's comment suddenly forgotten. Yamato himself was feeling a little annoyed that the brunette could just brush him off like that.

"So, Tomo, it's been a week. What can I get for you this fine day?" Taichi leaned on the counter with one arm and flashed a bright smile at the late twenty something, possibly thirty, costumer. Tomo blanched at Taichi's comment.

"Fine day? _Fine day?_ What's so fine about it? My beautiful Himeko broke up with me!" The man moaned and rested his chin dejectedly in his palm.

"Three Acid Cookies it is then!" Taichi went about preparing the shots before setting them on the counter and leaning forward again. "So, how'd it happen?"

"She found," one shot down, "a better," second shot down, "man she says," and there went the last one.

"Whoa, man! Hold the fire." Taichi indicted the now empty shot glasses before getting a better look at the guy. "This wasn't your first stop, was it?" Tomo shook his head. "It's not even eight and your already at your second stop?"

"Yeah, well, I was gonna stay at the first place but you're nicer than that other guy. Plus there's supposed to be good music tonight, yeah?"

"Well there's going to be music, alright. I'm not so sure about the quality though." Taichi took a second to glare at the musician who just rolled his eyes and acted like it didn't bother him. The truth was far different inside the blond's head.

'_Stupid, smart ass._'

"Anyway, why don't we get you a nice drink now?" Taichi turned his attention back to his customer. "Something fun that says what this occasion should."

"And what should it be saying, huh?" Tomo asked timidly.

"That you're a free man now! You can go after that girl you've like for so long _before_ Himeko. The one at the video shop by your apartment." Taichi said while putting together the drink for his costumer.

"Oh her," Tomo moaned again. "She thinks I'm a creep cause I returned a porn for my friend but she thought it was mine."

"Well, fix things. Talk to her. Get the story straight." Taichi turned to Sonya, taking another second to glare at Yamato while doing so. "Hand me the Orange Juice, Sonya." She handed it to him and he turned back to Tomo. "Well? Are you gonna?"

"I want to, but how? How do you just go up to a girl and do that?" He said desperately. Yamato snorted.

"You're asked _him_ for girl advice? You'll most likely end up with a slap in the face than a kiss." Yamato waited for the reaction. He was so sure Taichi would get defensive and shoot some remark back. It'd been three years since their last meeting but he could just tell their animosity wasn't over with, therefore he was so prepared for any attack. He wasn't, however, prepared for what was shot at him.

"I hate to agree with dumb blond there, but he does have a point. You should ask Sonya about that. I broke free of the girl thing years ago." Taichi avoided looking at the stunned Yamato, though he was tempted to see to the blond 'put in his place' for once.

"What? Or that's right. You're _that way_." Tomo said before leaning forward. "You don't like me do you?"

"Why does every straight guy think that every gay guy wants him?" Taichi asked an amused Sonya as he finished gently stirring the mystery drink in the hurricane glass. He pushed it forward. "And to answer your question, I'm sorry Tomo but you ain't for me."

"It's okay. I understand. What's this here anyway?" Taichi's costumer cautiously picked up the glass and inspected it.

"That, my friend, is what you call a Blue Monkey." Taichi said proudly before walking off in the other direction.

"He's gay?" Yamato finally asked Sonya. She just smirked then nodded.

"Not what you expect?" He shook his head. "Well maybe you both don't know a lot about each other then. Maybe you both should learn a little more then maybe this stupid schoolyard fight will be done with." Sonya said as a-matter-of-factly before nodding towards the stage. "Love to talk more, but I think it's about time you went up there to see boss before he comes looking for you."

Yamato looked at the stage before thanking Sonya for the drink and leaving to meet Mr. Itou. It was about show time.

--

To Yamato, this was beauty at its best. He'd forgotten what it was like to sit in front of a crowd with his eyes closed and singing his own words out to them. He'd forgotten what it was like to strum his guitar under a pale spotlight. He'd forgotten what it was like to just feel _this_ good when others excepted his art in the form of words written from dreams and heartache. He'd forgotten what it was to be Yamato Ishida the musician and not Yamato Ishida the bitter worker at a minimum wage job.

He'd make sure to keep this feeling always.

--

To Taichi, this was a siren's voice. It was wonderful, and as he stood there drying out newly washed cups he couldn't help but think Yamato was wonderful. He just looked so into the song. Like he was the only one up there. Like this was the blonde's only form of true happiness and he wasn't ashamed to share it. It made Taichi want to see him happy like this always.

But he knew the truth. The second that stuck up bastard stopped singing it'd be like the soccer ball incident from summer camp. Yamato would pop Taichi's illusion of him instantly, just like the jerk popped his soccer ball in summer camp over something stupid. Taichi couldn't remember what it was he _supposedly_ broke that year. Something like a pen or something small and dumb like that.

The last song ended on a fading chord and the audience clapped politely. Taichi sighed. Hopefully jerk face would get up and get out quickly now that the only good thing about him was over. Taichi had restrained himself earlier, but his patience had never been very long standing and just the sight of _him_ made Taichi want punch his smug little face. The image made Taichi smile.

"What? Dreaming about an old high school crush?" Sonya teased next to him. He growled at her.

"Shut up, that's a gross lie." He turned to her. "And stop fiddling with your skirt, it's to the knee therefore long enough."

"Quiet you, You've never worn a skirt, so what do you know? And shorts don't count since you can do things like ride bikes without worrying about giving some pervy a show." Sonya smiled. "Besides we're off the topic. Don't you think it's rather nice to have such a view on Fridays and Saturdays this month?"

"Thank god it's only for this long. He'll be on his way home soon and I won't have to see him for the rest of the night." Taichi smiled for a second at the thought before the look on Sonya's face made him frown. "What?"

"You _really_ need to pay attention during meetings...actually you just need to pay attention in general."

"What are you talking about?" He felt his heart drop a little.

"Since when has our entertainment only been half an hour each night? Every performance we've had played off and on till 12:30 on Fridays and 1:30 on Saturdays. You know that." Sonya almost laughed out loud at Taichi's expression. "So don't worry, you'll be able to stare at him a little longer tonight."

"Oh no, you're kidding." Taichi said weakly before realizing it was true. "Oh man, I was really hoping. Why'd you go and burst my bubble like that? It's not nice."

"Whoever said I was nice?" She smirked.

"I did! I think you're the best!" A man a little ways down from them exclaimed. Sonya smiled at him.

"Still can't handle your shots, Mr. Takahashi?" She said and wandered away down the bar to take care of some other barhoppers that were starting to make the rounds on the street.

"Hey, meathead, I'd like some service. That is what you get paid to do, right? Serving people?" Taichi growled and turned to see none other than Sonya's 'such a view' sitting down. Taichi just glared before turning to the other bartender working that night.

"Hey Kanaye! You got a someone who needs a drink. It's my break." Taichi flipped his towel over his shoulder before walking past Yamato. "Might wanna be careful. This one is a real creep."

"Watch it, Yagami." Yamato growled but Taichi was already in the backroom by then.

---

The rest of Friday was uneventful, as well as most of Saturday. They only got a few warnings from Mr. Itou about playing nice or paying for it in their checks. They didn't get into any all out brawls like they used to, and Sonya was really hoping that was because they matured past that. As for the people who ended watching their verbal spats that got a little worse each time, they didn't complain. Drink and a free show, they would tease, what more could you want when going out to the bar?

It wasn't until after Obsidian's closing time on Saturday that things started getting a little more interesting…

"Alright! Clean up and I'll be able to enjoy a night at home tomorrow!" Taichi said, stretching out his limps as the last of the patrons left. Sonya agreed.

"That's right, we're done for tonight after we finish cleaning up." She smiled and tossed a cleaning rag at him while Taichi grabbed a cleaner from the supply closet. The other two employees who worked with them grabbed the brooms.

"Just don't be lazy about cleaning. I want to go home just as much as you, but I don't want to leave this place in questionable conditions." Mr. Itou said while taking care of the money for that night. Taichi was going to say something before he noticed Yamato rolling his eyes.

"You've got something to say, pretty boy?" He said menacingly, still staying behind the bar with the cleaner in his hand. He really tried not to move too much around the other. For some reason he was scared that Yamato would see his limp and say something scathing about it. Three years and Taichi was still sensitive about his injury. The fact that he was walking even the doctors said wouldn't ever again not seeming as anything much more than a weakness to Taichi. Almost as if he felt like it was some sort of failure or something.

"Just that you _not_ being lazy shocks me for some reason." Yamato said smoothly while finish putting away Penny Lane in her case.

"You better watch it, Ishida." Taichi leaned forward while flexing his hands. He was itching to put them around the other's throat.

"Or what? Are you going to resort to violence as usual? Something bothers you and the only thing a dumb jock like you can think of to do is hit it till it doesn't bother you anymore?" Yamato stood up to his full height, only faintly aware that the people around them had stopped and held their breath. Anyone that knew Taichi was fully aware that he didn't take well to being reminded that he wasn't really a 'jock' anymore.

"Listen you stuck up freak, you better just shut the hell up if you know what's good for you!" Taichi looked almost ready to attempt leaping the bar.

"Don't call me a stuck up freak you insensitive gorilla!"

"Insensitive gorilla? Is that the best you can come up with, dickhead!"

"Why you--"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mr. Itou roared. The room stood still for what seemed like an eternity before Taichi spoke up.

"Boss, I--"

"Don't even, just don't even try. I don't want to hear it." Mr. Itou looked at them both critically for a second before speaking up again. "I know you both don't like each other very much. You've made that very much clear in a very short time. But just because you're young don't mean you've got to act stupid. Either get over yourselves or stay away from each other. I don't see how to young men like you, who get along with everyone else just fine, can act so damn childish around each other." The older man looked pointedly at both guilty parties for a second more. Shaking his head and turning back to his work, he let them have his final word on the matter, "now finish up and go home without another word from either of you."

They both looked down before continuing what they were doing. Taichi went back to cleaning the bar and Yamato closed the lock on his guitar case so he could be out of there quickly.

They both felt major headaches coming on. Get along? Yeah right. A night wasn't going to take away ten years worth of animosity. They both knew that this was going to one long July.

TBC

* * *

Wow...this was kinda fun to write! and long too...I want all my chapters to be this long! yay! I think that the hardest part about writing this fic is going to be finding songs that go with what I want to happen...oh well, more fun for me! review please? 


	3. The Worst Day Since Yesterday by Flog

umm...just so you know, the songs I choose won't always match... but some lines will so I'll use them...yeah...

* * *

Closing Time  
by Moonlit Eyes  
Chapter Two  
The Worst Day Since Yesterday by Flogging Molly  
"_It's been the Worst Day Since Yesterday  
Fallin' down to you sweet ground  
Where the flowers they bloom  
It's there I'll be found"_

Taichi frowned at the date on the television screen. Tuesday already. Those two days off can go by so fast, even though nothing happens usually. At least he woke up early today. He'd never admit it to Sora, but she was right every time she told him that waking up early meant enjoying more of the day before going to work. Currently he was enjoying this day by watching some made for TV movie that wasn't great but interesting enough to keep him from reaching for the remote.

"Is that all you're going to do today?" Sora sat next to him on the couch.

"Pretty much." Taichi watched the guy on the TV make a startling revelation he himself made fifteen minutes ago. Really it wasn't all that surprising.

"You don't want to go out? Maybe visit your sister or something?" Sora said with a slight shrug. Taichi snorted.

"You sound like you want to get rid of me or something." When she just stuttered out an excuse Taichi started to get suspicious. "You _do_ want to get rid of me! Is someone coming over or something? A boyfriend?" He teased with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"What? No, of course not. Well, I did date him in high school but that was so long ago. We're just good friends now is all and haven't really seen each other lately." Sora did her best not to make eye contact and was feeling rather nervous, but Taichi didn't notice.

"Oh? Who is it? Yuichi? Or maybe Fujitaka?" He began to feel anxious. Maybe this guy could be a potential boyfriend again? Sora hadn't dated in a while and Taichi wanted her to go out and meet someone for a while now.

"No, it's no one that you really knew about but... I don't think you'll get along very well so maybe it's best if you--"

Taichi suddenly got a bad feeling in his stomach. "Not get along with? I like everyone! Besides you're like a second sister to me, it's by obligation to know potential boyfriends."

"It's because I'm like a second sister I didn't want to tell you." Sora said softly.

"What?" He sighed and got himself comfortable on the couch again. "Well even if you don't tell me I'll find out anyway. I'm not going anywhere." He went back to watching his movie before he heard Sora say something.

"I'm sorry. Didn't quite catch you."

"I said," she took a deep breath, "Yamato Ishida."

Taichi sat in shock for a second before her words cut through. "Whoa, sorry, I don't think I really heard you right 'cause I thought I heard you say Yamato Ishida."

"You heard right." She said stubbornly. "I dated Yamato when we were Juniors and have been friends with him since we broke up."

"WHAT? How could you not tell me about this? I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find out?" He sat up as tall as he could and turned to face her better.

"I don't see why you're so mad anyway!" Sora yelled just as Koushiro and Mimi walked in the door. They looked at each other before going to Mimi's room to hide out. The two knew better than to interfere.

"How could you not see why? It's _Yamato Ishida_! The biggest jerk I've ever come across!" He moaned and held his head. He could just feel a headache coming on.

"Why are you getting so mad about this?" She sounded angered now.

"Because I'm your best friend! Well, I thought I was. Obviously that thought didn't go both ways since you didn't tell me. _Me!_ The person you tell things like this to." Taichi felt betrayed and hurt, especially since what he said was true.

"We are best friends, Taichi! But this is my life and it doesn't matter what you think because it's involves me and not you!" She practically yelled this as they both stood up.

"If you really felt that way you would have told me and wouldn't have been afraid to do so." Taichi felt a little guilty as she visibly deflated but didn't do anything about it. Instead he walked off to the hallway that lead to his and Koushiro's rooms.

--

"Hey, Yamato! Going out?" Takeru asked while he and Daisuke played cards at the dinner table.

"Um, yeah, I'm meeting..."He paused as a thought hit him, "aren't you supposed to be in school?" Yamato raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall. They just shrugged. "Mom won't be happy to hear about this."

"That's why she won't hear about this brilliant escape, will she?" Daisuke said sweetly. Figures he'd be the one behind this.

"Right, anyway I'm off." Yamato pushed himself off the wall.

"Where you going?" Takeru asked while putting some cards on the table and making Daisuke look worried.

"I'm meeting Sora at her place to hang out." Yamato was suddenly suspicious as both boys went still and looked at each other.

"Oh? She lives near the shopping district, right?" Takeru asked suddenly, turning around to see his brother better.

"Yeah, with some friends from high school." Daisuke started laughing suddenly, making the older blond nervous.

"Yeah, some friends like Koushiro, Mimi, and--OW!" The goggled teen pulled his feet onto the chair. "Whadya do that for, TM?"

"Shut up!" Takeru hissed.

"What's going on here?" Yamato narrowed his eyes at Takeru.

"Nothing, have fun!" Takeru sang out a little too innocently. Yamato just watched them warily as he walked to the door.

"Yeah, I will. See you." He couldn't help but feel that he and his brother were going to have a nice chat about secrets later.

--

Two hours after his argument with Sora found Taichi sitting at the kitchen table eating his lunch. It was ten minutes till 1PM when Sora said that Yamato would be over by. He sighed. After he had spent a good twenty minutes complaining on the phone with his sister during her free period, Taichi came back into the living room and argued some more with Sora. He didn't understand why they couldn't meet somewhere else. Sora wouldn't have it though saying that they were old enough to get past childhood rivalries. Taichi said that it was more than childhood rivalries but she wasn't listening. He then decided to forbid Yamato from coming over, saying that he helped pay rent and therefore had a say. Sora pointed out that he only paid 1/4 of the living expenses and so only had 1/4 of the vote. He asked Koushiro to vote in his favor but the shorter male decided to keep neutral. He didn't even consider asking Mimi since she was a girl and would therefore take Sora's side.

"Why don't you just sit in your room if you're going to be that way?" Sora asked moodily.

"What? Just because that guy is coming I have to hide in my room? No thanks. Besides I like sitting out here and eating lunch with my true friends." Taichi stuck his nose in the air before nodding at Koushiro. Koushiro just stuck his newspaper up in the air higher.

"Neutral party, remember?" The red head said before taking a bite of the ramen he brought back for everyone.

"Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to read at the table?" Taichi pouted.

"Whatever, you just better not start anything or--" The sound of the buzzer cut her off. A second later you could hear her saying something before pressing the button to let Yamato into the building. Then a couple minutes after that Sora could be heard talking to him at the door.

"Great, his royal pain in the ass is here," the bartender grumbled.

"Are you saying you're royalty?" Mimi teased from her spot next to him. Taichi just stuck her tongue at her.

"What are you doing here?" Yamato exclaimed when he came around the corner hiding the front door. Suddenly the blond remember his brother's comment when he left. '_Have fun indeed_.'

"I live here. What's your excuse?" Taichi snapped, before looking down in thought. "Didn't this happen before?"

"Taichi play nice." Sora chastised.

"You too, Yamato." Mimi added seeing the blonde's smirk.

"Fine, fine." Taichi glared at the guest. "Why don't you sit down, our other roommate got you a ramen bowl too." He shoved the take out container across the table.

"Are you going to refer to me as the 'other roommate' now just because I have good survival instincts?" Koushiro put down his newspaper.

"Good survival instincts? I'm your friend, Koushiro! Best buds, right? You should be taking my side for once." Taichi noticed Yamato staring at his ramen a little too hard. "I didn't poison it, y'know!"

"Yeah, really. _Taichi_ wasting food?" Sora laughed and played with her chopsticks. "That'd be the day."

"Only makes sense that someone with a mouth as big as yours wouldn't want to waste something to stuff it with." Yamato said in his usual cool voice. He suddenly looked confused as Taichi tried to hide a blush. Mimi noticed this too and laughed.

"Really, Taichi. You shouldn't listen to Daisuke's dirty jokes if they bother you that bad." Mimi giggled.

"It's not that." Taichi mumbled.

"Remind you of your boyfriend's dirty mouth?" Sora teased. "He's a real pervert, Taichi. I don't know how you put up with him."

"I don't." He shrugged.

"What?" Sora looked at him surprised, out of the corner of her eye though she could see Yamato trying to discretely listen in while looking like he was just eating.

"Taichi broke up with him two weeks ago," Koushiro handed Mimi the want ads. "He told all of us at dinner the very same day."

"She wasn't there, remember?" Taichi added.

"Oh yeah."

"Wait. I wasn't there so you just decided not to tell me at all." Sora asked incredulously.

"Well, well, it seems like you're not the only one who keeps things like that to themselves." Taichi smirked.

"Fine, I get it. I'm the bad guy, you're the good guy. Whatever." She put her hands up in surrender. "At least tell me why."

"Like you said, he was a perv. I mean, honestly, I'm only one man. I don't have _that_ much stamina." Taichi grinned at Yamato who choked on a noodle before looking at Sora again. "Besides, there should be so much more to a relationship than sex."

"You are so gay." Mimi muttered while Taichi chose to ignore her just this once.

"Damn it, Yagami. I was eating. I don't need to hear things like that." Yamato glared while Taichi just smirked.

"Are you such a prude that just the mention of sex gets your panties in a twist." Taichi chuckled. "Man, don't tell me you're still a virgin?"

"You--"

"Omigod!" Mimi looked at Taichi with big eyes while clutching a store flyer from the newspaper. "There's a sale, Taichi! Let's go!"

"What? Hell no!" Taichi leaned as far away from her as possible.

"But you're gay, you're supposed to like shopping!" Mimi argued.

"That's called stereotyping and that's bad! Besides I'm working today." Taichi suddenly came up with an idea. "Hey, I know. Why don't you take Sora and Ishida?"

"Taichi!" Sora hissed. Yamato suddenly got the feeling that he was going to hate this.

"Oh come on, Sora! Shopping brings friends together!" Taichi said with mock enthusiasm. Koushiro snorted.

"Yeah, if the friends survive it." The red head ignored Mimi's look.

"Taichi's right!" Mimi stood up, full of energy. "It's the perfect tool for friend-bonding!"

"Yeah, friend-bonding!" Taichi exclaimed with her.

"Hey, Kou-Kou, you should come too!" Mimi bounced over to her prey. Koushiro started to sputtered excuses and while trying to tell her not to call him such ridiculous names. Taichi laughed and decided to take pity by helping his only other male roommate.

"Kou-Kou--" "Don't call me that!" "Is helping me with figuring out the bills for this month. He can't, sorry."

"Oh, that's too bad." Mimi said a little sadly before perking up. "It's okay! Come on, you two! The day is still young and there are lots of stores to go to. Good thing we live near the shopping district, huh?"

"Yeah, great, Mimi." Sora glared at Taichi as she and Yamato were dragged out of the door. Koushiro turned to thank Taichi but caught the odd look on his friend's face.

"You owe me, man."

"I knew it."

--

Yamato was still pissed at Taichi that Saturday. Sure he thought Mimi was cool and all, but that shopping trip nearly killed him before he got a call from his dad and had an excuse to go home. He wanted to rant and rave at the object of his rage before plotting his revenge. However, Mr. Itou's words stuck in his head from last Saturday and he really didn't want to anger the man any further. Maybe after his last night, but for now revenge was off limits.

Which wasn't bad now that he thought about it. Over a half a month to plan. Not bad at all.

Meanwhile, Taichi was avoiding his 'sworn enemy' like the plague. He knew that if was near Yamato he would start laughing since he heard about the other's pain through Sora Wednesday. That would in turn cause Yamato to get pissed, which was a pro, and start a fight, which was a con. The con outweighed the pro in this case as Mr. Itou would surely make him sorry for starting a fight.

Oh well, the glares he was getting from across the room were enough to keep him happy.

--

They didn't know how this fight had started, really. Taichi went into the room behind the stage for a mop while Yamato was in there after his ring slipped off his finger and rolled under the door and into the room. One thing lead to another and the next thing they knew they were have a verbal match while trying not to yell.

"You're such an asshole!" Yamato hissed, mindful of the thin walls.

"You're one to talk! Why the hell did you date Sora anyway?" Taichi was still having a hard time letting _that one_ go.

"Because I liked her, okay? Besides she made a move on me you wash-up jerk!" Yamato felt satisfaction after watching Taichi react badly to his comment. "You heard me, you're a lazy has-been. You didn't quit because of an injury. That was a lame excuse, you really just aren't that good at soccer anymore."

"Shut up," Taichi's voice felt a little choked.

"What? Don't like the truth? Well tough! Your leg is probably just as good as it used to be, you're just too damn scared to play anymore."

"I said shut up." Taichi tried again as he clenched his fist.

"Don't want anyone to know how bad you've gotten so you play up the wound. But you look like you're walking fine to me." Yamato sneered.

"Fine, if I'm a has-been then so are you!" Taichi said in an eerily calm voice. "Trying to be big, bad Yamato Ishida again by singing in a bar. Well guess what? No one else but this bar hears you. You're not on the radio anymore since they're too busy playing newer and better songs. Yamato Ishida, lead singer of The Teenage Wolves, stopped being famous with his band." Yamato charged forward, fully intended to land a punch, but Taichi was faster. Grabbing Yamato's fist with one hand, he used the other to land a strong right hook over a blue eye. Yamato fell back against wall while clutching his left eye. He would have charged again if Taichi hadn't chose that moment to speak up. "The nicest thing anyone has said to me and it comes from you? You're the only one who chooses not to see my limp." And with that he walked towards the door.

Yamato suddenly felt like Taichi hit him again once he noticed that the other did indeed have a rather obvious limp. Had he had that this entire time? Yamato cursed as he realized that he was blinded by the years of putting up with Taichi's constant bullying to notice something like that. Yamato suddenly felt angry at himself. Why was he feeling guilty over a guy that nearly ruined his high school experience?

He didn't realize what he was doing till he had grabbed his guitar case and ran out onto the street after finding out where Taichi went. The other had just grabbed his jacket and left before Yamato could...

...could what? Get the last word? That wasn't it. Rub the salt further in? Not that either. Apologize?

"Idiot must've knocked a few screws loose." He muttered after reaching the top of the steps to the street level. He looked both ways in the rain before seeing Taichi walking down the street to the left. He took off after him. "Hey, Yagami, wait up!"

"Didn't get enough back there?" Taichi yelled out but didn't stop.

"No I want to--" Yamato grabbed at the other's arm but it was wrenched away.

"Leave me alone, Ishida." Taichi snapped and started walking faster.

"No! I want--" The blond grabbed Taichi again, though his time Taichi wasn't as graceful went it came to escaping. Tripping on the slick ground, he went tumbling down onto the ground and landed hard on his bad knee. He clenched his teeth to avoid crying out. "Great," Yamato muttered while saying a little louder, "you okay?"

"What do you care?" Taichi snapped while trying to stand up and not being very victorious.

"I feel bad and I came after you to--stop that." He grew tired of watching Taichi try to get up and fail yet again. Yamato slung Taichi's right arm over his shoulders. "Let's get you home." Taichi started to protest. "And don't say nothing. You obviously can't walk so just shut up and put up."

"Fine, but I'm not going to my place with you like this. Sora would never shut up about it. Let's go to somewhere open and I'll just sit down till it's better." Taichi managed out through his wounded pride. Yamato just rolled his eyes.

"My place then." He ignored Taichi's complaints and lead the other man to his apartment. Taichi eventually gave up and stayed quiet on the way.

What a week this turned out to be.

---

"Ow! Don't touch it!" Taichi cried out. He put his leg up on the couch like Yamato had been trying to do. The blond kneeled next to him for a second to inspect the damage when Taichi rolled up his pant leg to see for himself. Clucking his tongue for second, Yamato shook his head.

"I'll get some ice for that." And with that, he left the room. Taichi watched him go wearily. Something was different. He didn't know what, but something had changed the second Yamato went after him. They weren't two-dimensional enemies anymore, only acknowledging each other as someone to yell at and nothing more. Somehow they had evolved...or maybe this was a step back? He shook his head, not sure if he liked or even wanted know what was going on.

In the kitchen, Yamato was having similar thoughts. He didn't know why he brought the other to his place. Maybe he was still think about Sonya's comment, about how they really didn't know each other all that well. Whatever the reason, he couldn't help but feel the same shift in their...what? Relationship? No, that seemed too personal.

Suddenly Yamato became scared to go back into the living room. Something was going to be said, something was going to confirm this change. He just didn't know if he was ready for it. Would they be worse enemies? Or would they finally find some closure and be able to leave each other completely alone from then on? He snorted at that last one. Yamato seriously doubted a moment could change years of fighting like that.

So what would happen?

Little did he know Taichi was sitting in the couch feeling the same reluctance at having Yamato walk back in. They were comfortable being the same rivals as always. Why did they have to say those things? Why did they have to add such depth to their words without realizing it? Fighting someone while only seeing one side of them was one thing. Fighting while glimpsing into another part, a more real part, was another thing entirely.

Taichi never wanted to let Yamato see just how much his injury cost him.

Yamato never wanted his high school tormentor to be a person beyond the image of 'he's an ass, stay away.'

Finally Taichi realized that Yamato was always going to be the stuck up asshole he knew and hated. So he just braced himself for the attack. Whatever changed, it really couldn't be that drastic and really could just have been his imagination.

Yamato decided that just because Taichi might have let something real slip, it didn't mean that he wasn't the arrogant bully he always was. So, ice in hand, he strolled back into the living room to deal with the problem on his couch.

TBC

* * *

oooh..a cliffhanger! Gee, this is really easy to write compared to my last story... and I like it better too. Though the next chapter will take a little longer than this one. Oh well, lataz! (psst, reviews make the world go round!) 


	4. Atarashii Taiyou by Fujita Toshiko

wooo!

* * *

Closing Time  
by Moonlit Eyes  
Atarashii Taiyou (New Sun) by Fujita Toshiko (Taichi Yagami's image song)  
Kimi wa mada shiranai ne (_You don't know yet, do you?_)  
Takusan no monogatari (_Many stories_)  
Tsutaete Okanakucha (_Must be told_) 

Yamato came back into the room and handed the ice pack to Taichi. The bartender just nodded and put it on his knee before looking at Yamato. "Aren't you going to put ice on that?"

"What?" Yamato wasn't really expected that reaction.

"It looks like you put on make up to match your eye." Taichi said, talking about the black eye he'd given to Yamato. The other just shook his head.

"Doesn't matter, it's a little late to ice it now. Besides, it isn't that bad." The blond shrugged nonchalantly, acting like he didn't care, but actually it took every bit of his willpower not to look into a mirror. "How bad is it? You leg."

"It's..." Taichi didn't know what they were doing really. Yamato was acting like he cared but Taichi didn't want him to. He decided a while ago not to say how bad his leg really was but to be honest he wanted to cry almost. He could feel the tell-tale throbbing that promised future days of using his cane...at least around his house. Taichi hated that thing, he didn't care what the doctors said, he wasn't going to use it around town. "It's fine. I took one of my pain pills that I keep in my jacket." And he was telling Ishida this...why?

"Oh?" Yamato asked innocently. "Then you wouldn't care if I," he flicked it hard, jumping in surprise as Taichi hissed in pain. "I didn't know it was that bad. This bad."

"Yeah? Well, it's what you wanted to hear, right?" Taichi snapped. "Taichi Yagami can't even go for a damn jog for longer than a minute, let alone play soccer. That's what you wanted right? For me to fall off my high horse? That's all you'd say to me in high school, going after me from the beginning when I never did nothing wrong _in the beginning_." He glared at the other for a second before looking away. "Well, I fell off my horse pretty damn hard. Happy?"

"No, I'm not happy. I'm not cruel on purpose." Yamato sat on the table behind him. "And our whole war started because of you. You broke my harmonica at summer camp remember?"

"Yeah, it was an accident and I--"

"It was the last thing my mother gave me before my parents divorced and I rarely saw her after." Yamato said, trying to get the other to understand.

"I didn't know that," Taichi said softly. "If you'd of told me instead of popping my favorite soccer ball though, the whole thing might not have gone so far." The brunette felt he should get a gold star and a cookie for sounding so adult like there. Though he knew the real reason he didn't want to start a large fight was because he was going to have a hard time making a quick get away. "In fact, this whole thing could have blown over if you'd have just let it go."

"Whatever. Don't lie. You know you enjoyed sending your stupid friends after me all throughout middle school _and_ high school." Yamato's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Taichi was just confused though.

"What are you talking about? I never sent anyone after you. It was _our_ business, no one else's." Taichi wasn't lying either. To send someone else to fight your battles was something Taichi never approved of. Yamato just snorted.

"Yeah, whatever. So Renjiro and his crew decided to go after me by themselves to beat me up while glorifying you?" Yamato watched the other for a sign of guilt on Taichi's face, but he never saw it.

"Figures that it was Renjiro. Never liked him much." Taichi sighed. Renjiro was always following Taichi around school like a lost puppy. Taichi only stuck to him on the field though since he was the only one who could think fast enough to catch Taichi's notoriously spontaneous passes. Beyond that, Taichi felt he couldn't get rid of the fanboy fast enough.

"So you're saying you never sent him after me?" Yamato suddenly remembered how many times Sora tried to defend Taichi by saying that her best friend wouldn't do something like that.

"No, I fight my fights, I don't need anyone else doing it for me." Taichi sat up better, careful of his knee. "What did he do to you?"

"What didn't he do? Remember when I had to cancel a show because I broke my arm?" Yamato was surprised when the other nodded. "Well, that was thanks to Renjiro meeting me after gym by surprise."

"That ass. I swear I didn't have anything to do with that. I never even talked to him outside of practice and games. He didn't feel like being my tail anyway after he found out my sexual preference the middle of senior year." Not long before the accident, Taichi shook the thought out of his head.

"I guess I'll just have to believe you. The only thing that kept me from believing Sora when she said as much was the fact that I thought you'd fess up proudly if I confronted you about it. It's why I never really did." Yamato wiped his face. He was believing Taichi Yagami's words? What was the world coming to?

"Sora stood up for me?" Taichi wasn't too surprised, but still he didn't know _what_ she talked about with Yamato when they dated. "Great, now I'm probably gonna hafta apologize to her for freaking out Tuesday. Though I am right about most of it."

"She told me about that. I didn't know that she didn't tell you. Though, this is me and you we're talking about, so maybe she just wanted to avoid getting in the middle." Yamato said.

"Yeah, I guess I can't blame her for that then. Damn it, I hate apologizing to her sometimes." Taichi chuckled. "Are we having a civil conversation?"

"I think we are." Yamato titled his head to the side. "Weird."

"Look, I know we don't like each other very much but I have an idea. Well, Sonya has an idea and she won't leave me alone about it." Taichi paused as if trying to decide if he was making the right choice then nodded his head. "Right," he stuck out his right hand, "Hello, my name is Taichi Yagami. Nice to meet you for the first time."

Yamato just looked at him as if he lost his mind. "What?"

"I said, hello, my name is Taichi Yagami. Nice to meet you for the _first time._" He held his hand out stubbornly. Yamato looked at the hand for a second, feeling as though something bad was going to come from this. Then he thought about having Mr. Itou telling him not to finish coming in the rest of the month because he started another fight with Taichi. Deciding it was for the best, he carefully took the hand and shook it.

"Yamato Ishida."

"Yama." Taichi said with a teasing grin on his face. "I'm going to call you Yama."

"No." Yamato glared and dropped the hand.

"Ooh, he doesn't like it, now I have to call him that." The bartender laughed.

"Do you talk to yourself often?" The blond raised an eyebrow.

"Not really." Taichi smiled. "My turn."

"What?" Yamato was getting a little tired of being confused.

"My turn. You asked me a question and now it's my turn. If we get to know each other better then we can get along with each other." Taichi said matter of factly.

"But what if it just makes us hate each other more?" Yamato crossed his arms.

"Then our principle was right and we should change classes." Taichi gave him a wink that the other only rolled his eyes at.

"Right, but I think I know enough about Taichi Yagami." Deciding that the coffee table was uncomfortable, Yamato sat cross legged on the chair at the end near Taichi's foot.

"Really? Then what's my favorite color?" Was the smart reply.

"You mean 'colors,' plural, and it's yellow and blue." Yamato leaned forward with a smirk. "What's mine?" He doubted Taichi could this one. He'd told everyone from magazines to fangirls the wrong color just because he thought it was a dumb question to ask someone.

"Green." Taichi grinned. "You have too many green shirts for it to not be green."

"How... Never mind." The singer shook his head, not realizing that the civil conversation was still going on and that he was actually enjoying it. "What's my--"

"My turn!" Taichi interrupted. "What's my favorite band? Betcha don't know that one."

"Orange Range." Really he was guessing because he'd seen the other wearing that band's shirt when he came over Tuesday.

"Damn. Yours is either Bump of Chicken or Asian Kung-fu Generation."

"How did you know that one? I love both those bands but Asian Kung-fu Generation is my favorite." Yamato suddenly felt the need to be on top. "Well, what are my hobbies?"

"Cooking and writing." Taichi grinned larger at the other's shocked expression. "Your brother told that to Mimi one time when she asked. I just happened to be there."

"Takeru..." Yamato muttered. What else had his brother said and to whom? He started to get uncomfortable. "I don't know yours anymore." He started, "not that it wasn't obvious before, I wasn't going out of my to know you or anything."

"Right, sure." Taichi chuckled for a second before looking down. "I don't really have any hobbies, not anymore. It's been three years and still I don't know what to do now. Soccer was my dream but now..."

"Isn't there anything the doctors can do?" Yamato blushed. "Not that I care but..."

Taichi laughed at the other's embarrassment before sobering up. "No, I don't trust doctors anyway. They told me I'd never walk again, unless I got a fake leg or something. But I really didn't want that so I just pushed myself harder in physical therapy until I could walk again."

"Sounds like you, stubborn jackass." Yamato said, but there wasn't any bite in his words. Taichi noticed too and just smiled. The brunette was grateful Yamato didn't push the subject.

"My turn."

--

The next morning, Taichi was limping into his apartment with help from Yamato. They both stayed up all night talking until Yamato decided to help Taichi home at seven in the morning while everyone was still sleeping. Carefully the two took off Taichi's shoes together, jumping in surprise when the door straight down the hallway from them opened. Out came a harassed looking Sora who was clutching a phone in her hand. "Where were you? Why didn't you call? We all waited for you so we could--" She suddenly noticed Yamato," hello, what's this?"

"Nothing! It's nothing!" Taichi tried to pull away from Yamato but almost fell over if it weren't for the blond catching him by the waist. Apparently Sora saw something different happen from her angle.

"Oh my god, Taichi!" Sora gasped. "I told you to get along better Yamato so you go out and screw him?"

"What the hell? No!" Taichi's eyes went wide and both men jumped apart. Taichi clutched onto the coat rack for support.

"Well it does make sense," this comment came from Mimi who had sleepily walked from her room after being awoken by Sora's yelling. "I mean, Yamato _is_ Taichi's type."

"No he is not!" Taichi was blushing and he knew it.

"Actually, Yamato Ishida does match the description of Taichi's usual dates." Koushiro peeked around the corner. "So there is a high probability of Taichi being attracted to him."

"Big words not helping here, _Kou-Kou_!" Taichi hissed. "Remember you owe me." Koushiro squeaked at the threat and ducked further back into the other room. "Don't listen to them. Please don't listen to them." Taichi pleaded with Yamato who had, until then, become very enthralled with the tile at the door entrance.

"Um...yeah, don't worry. I'll take your word for it." The singer said with a small shudder at looks he was getting.

"Wow, Taichi. You must be pretty good in bed if you got _Yamato_ to willingly agree with you." Mimi teased. "Well, I'm off to bed to get my beauty sleep. Ta! I'll expect the full story later." The strawberry blond American walked back into her room and shut the door.

"Well I'm not waiting for the full story." Sora crossed her arms.

"Yeah, yeah, fine. And we did not sleep together for the last time." Taichi sighed before looking at Koushiro. "Hey, Koushiro, get my stupid stick from behind my door, will ya?" The computer wiz nodded and went to fetch it.

"Stupid stick?" Yamato raised his eyebrow.

"It's what Taichi calls his cane." Sora looked at Taichi disapprovingly. "He really shouldn't call it that because there's nothing wrong with admitting to needing it. Wait, why do you need it?" She suddenly looked very worried.

"All in due time, mother." Taichi teased. A second later Koushiro came back with a silver metal cane. Taichi glared at the handle for a second before grabbing it. "Well, shall we?"

"I'll make the tea." Mimi said with a yawn as she came out of her room, this time wearing her pale pink night robe.

"Thought you were going to sleep?" Koushiro asked amused.

"And miss the good stuff? Never!" She said with enthusiasm. "Help me out, Kou-Kou."

"Yeah, Kou-Kou." Taichi snickered as he leaned on his 'stupid stick' and walked to the dinner table that sat in the halfway point between the living room and the kitchen.

"Don't call me that!" Koushiro yelled out.

"Is it in your programming to annoy people or something?" Yamato asked as he sat next to Sora.

"Something like that." Sora replied for Taichi who just pouted.

"That's not nice, you two!"

"Oh? It was supposed to be nice?" Yamato snickered at Taichi's indignant huff.

"Wow, you two seem to be getting along really well." Sora looked back and forth between them. "I was joking about the sleeping with each other thing but..."

"I said we didn't!" Taichi snapped and gave Sora a meaningful look. The girl just nodded reluctantly and let it drop. Yamato felt like he missed something.

When Koushiro and Mimi sat at the table they gave everyone a soda since the tea was gone ("Taichi it was your turn to buy it!" "No, it was yours, Sora!"). Taichi and Yamato talked about their fight and new attempt at being friends. The others were skeptical about it but eventually gave in to it being the truth. Though Taichi's roommates each secretly decided to watch them and make sure they didn't go off the deep end on each other.

When Sora's alarm clock could be heard going off in the background, Taichi was suddenly tired of yawning and bid them all "good...er...morning" as he tiredly made his way to his room. Koushiro followed to get the last bit of sleep. Sora put out a futon on the floor in her room so Yamato could sleep there instead of having to walk back to his place. Mimi grinned at she stuck her head into Sora's room real quick.

"Don't be stealing Taichi's man now, Sora!" She giggled. "Besides it's so improper for a girl to have a boy sleeping in her room!" Mimi giggled louder as she took off in time to miss a pillow aimed at her face.

--

Taichi laid in his bed while staring up at the ceiling. He suddenly felt very confused. This morning he felt as if he'd been talking to a stranger. A stranger that knew a hell of a lot about him. Watching that face laugh friendly amusement changed it so much from watching it glare with unrestrained anger. It was like he met Ishida's good twin Yamato. But that didn't make sense. Was he always this nice to be around when not angry? Had Taichi wasted those years only seeing the bad side when he could have had a good friend?

"A good friend..." Taichi whispered. "A good friend in Yamato Ishida." That still sounded weird on his tongue. Though it did seem right, now that he'd glimpsed at the person Sora had been telling him about this week. She had been trying to make him see it and now he had. It was strange.

"_I mean, Yamato is Taichi's type." _Mimi's comment ringed clearly in his mind. It was true too. At first, it'd only been appearance wise. Because of their constant bickering Taichi had never thought of Yamato as more than a wasted pretty face. Then this morning, he saw a person he'd like to be with.

Taichi shook the thoughts out of his head. It didn't matter. Yamato was straight and tightly strung as his guitar strings. But weren't guitar strings flexible?

With a pitiful moan, Taichi covered his face with his pillow. "Sleep, sleep, sleep, need to sleep..." He groaned into the pillow case. This thoughts weren't helping his real problem.

How much of Yamato was that nice guy from this morning who helped him and didn't make snippy comments about it? How much of Yamato wanted to use those comments for later? Was he changed, or had he always been like this way? Or was 'this way' only a trick?

With those questions whirling through his mind, Taichi fell asleep that morning with a dream haunted by a siren's song.

--

Not long after Sora got ready and left for work, Yamato snuck back out and went home. He could now be found sitting on the same couch that Taichi had been on. Sitting alone in the room, he finally got tired of the silence and picked up his guitar. He only meant to play with the strings, but was surprised when he found his fingers remembering an old song he wrote as a Sophomore. Yamato hummed for a second before the lines from chorus came back to him.

"You're like something that wasn't meant to be while feeling like it was. Like rain in the summer that cools my fire and makes me real."

Like a teenager's dream that left him confused for days after.

Yamato stopped and immediately put down the instrument. He'd forgotten that dream only to remember it now? Why? Leaning on the back of the sofa, he attempted to clear his thoughts but something stopped him. Visions of tan skin and soft lips obstructed his meditation and he growled in annoyance. He'd had that dream when he was fifteen and bruised from a particularly nasty fight with a certain captain of his school's soccer team. It stayed on his mind for days until he wrote a song about it. A song that never made it to band practice because it embarrassed him so much. After all, how many teenage boys wrote songs about dreams of lust (not love, never love) dreams involving their most hated (and very male) rivals? Not that you could tell who the dream was about, but still he never wanted to face the questions that would surely pry into his inspiration.

But maybe he could use the song now. It was a good song and now those questions could be easily thwarted with a quick "I wrote it six years ago but I don't remember of who." No one would ever know it was about Taichi Yagami, right? Besides, it wasn't like he had those particular dreams anymore.

Three hours later, Yamato would wake up only to curse every swear word within his vocabulary, including three foreign languages.

--

Monday Yamato came over to Sora's apartment to get to together and go do...something. He didn't know what, Yamato usually left the planning to whoever he was with. Currently he was sitting in the kitchen talking to Mimi about some American place.

"Seriously, you have to go there and you'll totally know what I'm talking about! I mean, Americans go crazy at concerts! It's nuts!" She said enthusiastically, trying to get him to understand how different American rock shows were to Japanese rock shows.

"Hey, Mimi?" Sora called around the corner. "Can you come here for a second? I need your help with something."

"Okay!" She turned to Yamato. "Be right back." She walked out of the room. Yamato looked around the apartment. The living room/kitchenette looked nice. It was hard to tell that four different people lived there with how clutter free it was. The windows were covered in colorful blinds that matched the patchwork couch. Where they found those pieces of furniture, Yamato had no idea, but despite how ugly they were it was almost as if the living room wouldn't have been as nice looking without them.

"You know, the couch isn't going to eat you or anything." Taichi's voice carried down the hall behind him. Yamato turned to see Taichi leaning on the doorframe of his room. He briefly remembered his dream and blushed. He hoped Taichi didn't see that. Yamato would die of embarrassment if Taichi saw that.

Taichi smiled. He saw it. He thought for a second that Yamato looked good in red.

--

"Did you hear that?" Mimi asked after putting the finishing touches on Sora's hair. Sora just looked at her before shaking her head.

"No, I didn't." She said quietly, grabbing her jacket. The two girls walked towards the living room but stopped in the doorway as they noticed that Yamato was gone. Looking towards to door, they saw the evidence that he was still there in the form of his shoes next to the coat rack. They looked at each other.

"Where--" Mimi began but was interrupted by the sound of a crash from the hall straight across from them.

"I heard it this time." Sora muttered as they both padded quickly over to the end room. What they saw didn't surprise them... almost. The tell-tale signs of a fight lingered on both men as they breathed heavily, the two obviously trying to catch their breath. Taichi's lip was split and Yamato was clutching his side in slight pain. That's not was surprised them though, it was how Taichi and Yamato were found. Taichi laid on his bed with his feet hanging out of his window and his head resting upside-down off the edge of his bed. Yamato was lying closer to them half way on his side looking like he somehow enjoyed lying on random people's floors.

"Hiya, Sora! Mimi!" Taichi grinned upside-down. "Whatcha doin?"

"What are we... What are _you_ doing!" Sora planted her hands on her hips and giving them both severe looks. Mimi was trying her hardest not to start laughing at how this all looked like two boys being scolded by their mother. The 'two boys' in question just looked at each other, then at Sora before shrugging.

"Saying hello?" Yamato said sarcastically, but he really didn't feel like he was lying. The two were talking one second and fighting the next. There wasn't any real anger behind the hits, it just seemed like they needed it after everything that happened. All that stress from the weekend just built up to a point where only a good struggle would get it all out. It really was rather simple. If only Sora could see that.

"Saying hello? _Saying hello?_" She suddenly looked angry at their calm attitudes. "Why can't you just say hello like normal people?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Taichi asked sweetly.

"Well, are you two done saying hello 'cause I'd really like to get to the movies now!" Sora snapped. Taichi and Yamato looked at each other before raising their hands in fists. They both let out a punch that didn't even come near the other before falling back into their original places.

"Yeah, I think we're done." Taichi snickered as Sora just sputtered for a second before throwing her hands in the air with a frustrated yell and walked out the room. Mimi started giggling and followed.

"Honestly, _girls_." The two boys started laughing, though Yamato had to stop and groan while clutching his side. Taichi got him real good there.

Yes, this was definitely the start of a good friendship.

TBC

* * *

Ooh, the two are friends now, but will it last? Is one weekend enough to end years of bitterment? Is that a word? Find out next time on CLOSING TIME! ...eheh heh...yeah... 


	5. Feels Like You're Falling in Love by Koa

oh man...I just realized not long ago that the chapter three I posted wasn't the version that was complete and whatnot...oh well, it's up and therefore I won't touch it ever again...sigh... the newer version wasn't too different anyway

* * *

Closing Time  
by Moonlit Eyes  
Feels Like You're Falling In Love (Again) by Koala  
"_Well the washing machine inside you  
__Turns your stomach upside-down  
__You know you can't control yourself  
__For long  
__Feels like your falling in love again  
__Feels like..._"

Yamato sat in the darkness of his room at three in the morning that Wednesday. His fists were clutching the sheets tightly as if they were a lifeline to reality.

_He stood alone by the beach. There was no one for miles. No one, except him and the owner of the smooth tan arms that wrapped around his waist._

His heart was pounding in his chest so hard that he feared his dad would wake up from the sound of it in the next room. He knew he had to get his breathing under control as well, but the aftermath of his dream was preventing him from doing as much.

_A hand came up and cupped the side of his face. He leaned into it, sighing contently. Yamato knew what was coming and felt the tingles of excitement rush down his spine as talented lips on his ear confirmed his expectations._

He'd hoped these dreams would have stopped tonight, but he received no such luck. It seemed some higher power was working against him. First by making these dreams return. Secondly by having a strange we're-friends-but-you-still-annoy-me-relationship with the object of his dream-world's lust.

_He could feel himself being turned around to face the man behind him. Chocolate eyes smiled at him and suddenly that face was so close he could feel the other's sweet breath whispering on his lips. "I've been waiting for this."_

"But something's changed. He doesn't say it right anymore..." Yamato's voice trailed off quietly into the silence. He bit the nail on his thumb, a bad habit he'd developed a few years ago, and tried to remember the voice from his dream.

"_Really, I have, Yama."_

Yamato glared at the nickname, suddenly remembering the bartender's insistence at calling him that these past few days. He hated it, really. In fact, Yamato hated it even more since the other _knew_ he hated it.

"_My Yama... Mine." They leaned together and kissed._

Tousled blond hair flew wildly as Yamato violent shook the rest of the dream from his head before the worst part could begin. With a sigh, Yamato finally resigned himself to a cruel fact: He wasn't going to get anymore sleep that night, there simply wasn't any way he'd be able to. Instead he stood and gathered some clean clothes together, suddenly desiring a very cold shower.

--

"So, anyway, I was sent here for a reason." Sonya sipped her soda, not really caring about what she was talking about. "I don't really see why. I mean, I already know what you're going to say. I guess the real reason I wanted to come here was because I wanna know the reason you were scaring our co-workers yesterday."

Taichi just looked at her oddly from his couch. "Whadya mean by that? I wasn't scaring anyone!"

"I heard you were humming at work. _Humming!_" Sonya looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"I don't really see Taichi humming as a crime." Koushiro mumbled out while typing furiously on his laptop.

"Yeah, what he said!" Taichi leaned on the couch arm and gave his defender a pointed look. "On a side note, that better not be illegal hardware attached to your Pineapple. I don't want some government official come storming in here 'cause you got caught stealing internet time off their satellites."

"I'm doing anything illegal, just downloading a few things that would take forever on a civilian's internet speed." Koushiro said distractedly, not noticing Taichi sighing.

"I am so not getting arrested for you." Taichi muttered before turning back to Sonya. "And you're outvoted, Sonya. Humming is thus declared not a crime!" He returned to his channel surfing.

"You were humming Butterfly!" Sonya declared. "Y'know, The Teenaged Wolves second most popular song of all time!"

"Wow," Koushiro suddenly became fully aware of his surroundings. "That is scary."

"What? I liked the band when they came out. You can like a band and not like the people in the band. That's not a crime either!" Taichi huffed. "Besides, I'm getting along with Yamato now. We called a truce."

"What!" Sonya spit out her drink, ignoring the way the Koushiro was frantically making sure his equipment wasn't wet anywhere. "Yeah, right, I'll believe that when I see it."

"It's true. Taichi and Mimi went to spy on Yamato and Sora at the movies Monday and they all ended up hanging out. Not a single fist was flown, if my sources were correct." Koushiro nodded, satisfied that nothing had soda on it.

"What? And who were these sources?" Sonya looked suspiciously at the redhead.

"A giggling Sora and Mimi."

"Giggling? What were they giggling about?" Taichi watched as Koushiro squirmed.

"Nothing." Was the reply as the younger male suddenly became very interested with something on his screen.

"Wait. So Sora and Mimi were giggling about it? Then Taichi is caught humming a Teenage Wolves song at work on Tuesday." The two roommates watched avidly as she calculated the facts in her head. Suddenly she gasped and turned to Taichi. "You like him. I mean, you really like _like_ him!"

"What? No!" Taichi turned away suddenly. "I don't-- I mean where'd you-- I can't-- he's..." He sat there spouting off half excuses while turning red with every word that came out.

"Hmm, let's see..." Sonya sat up straight and tapped her chin seriously. "Stuttering, blushing, frantic arm waving, and signs of panic." She turned to the other sitting next to her. "So Doc, what's the diagnoses?"

"Denial." Koushiro nodded sharply.

"What? Denial? _Denial._" Taichi shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ooh, looks serious." Sonya clucked a couple of times, shaking her head mournfully, and looked at Koushiro again. "So, what treatment is available."

"Nothing available for symptoms this bad. I'm afraid he'll have to accept his fate." Koushiro sighed and started typing.

"That's it? Nothing else you can do for my baby?" Sonya wailed dramatically.

"How should I know? I'm not a doctor!" Koushiro shrugged and went back to his work, once again lost to all outside his screen.

"You two are..." Taichi slouched into his seat and pouted. "Two against one, that's not fair."

"Well, if it makes any difference, I think we've just lost Obi Wan here to the Dark Side." Sonya stretched out her arms and stood up. "Okay, I'm off! Was a pleasant conversation but I've completed my task and now must go run my errands before work." She announced before strolling merrily out the door. At least, that was the plan. It was, however, interrupted by Taichi suddenly clutching her by the left arm.

"Don't you even think about spreading such blatant lies! It's not true and you know it!"

"Wow, that was a cool sentence. Been watching soap operas again?" At this, Taichi shrugged before remembering why he was clinging onto her in the first place.

"I mean it, Sonya!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll just tell them you were in a good mood yesterday and that you called a truce with Yamato. Okay, Taichi-sempai?" He nodded. "Good, now let me go before I break your hands."

"Thank you, Sonya!" Taichi said relieved.

"No prob," Sonya said cheerfully before muttering to herself, "shame, juiciest gossip in years and it's so juicy that no one would believe me."

After she left, Koushiro looked up from his notebook. "Were you really humming Butterfly?"

"You still owe me, Kou-Kou."

"Why me?"

--

The next morning a very tired Taichi was found downing two pain pills in the kitchen. Ah, medication, one of the few things he still trusted his doctors on.

"Hey, Tai, what are you doing?" Mimi asked sweetly while gathering a few things from the kitchen. She was getting ready for the picnic they'd planned to celebrate Hikari, Takeru, and Daisuke graduating highschool.

"Taking something to keep my knee numb for the next few hours." Taichi looked down at his knee, remembering how he'd fallen that night. He wonder briefly how long it would act up like this. Pain pills didn't go good with his coffee.

"Use your cane." Mimi said absent-mindedly, trying to find a knife to use for the cake later.

"Why?" Taichi said annoyed. "I don't need it if I just take something for it now and then before work. Besides, how am I supposed to serve people while hanging on to that dumb thing?" He walked to the couch.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, we're going in a few minutes. Sora and Koushiro are meeting Yamato and will be there later. They said he's bringing a friend." Mimi smiled at him sweetly. "I hear he's cute and I can't help but wonder..."

"What?" He suddenly felt a little worried.

"Oh, nothing much. Just wondering if he's cute enough to drag your cutesy eyes from Yamato." She laughed at the face he started to make.

"I don't like him, okay?" Taichi protested, but then he decided to change the subject and avoid whatever she looked like she wanted to say "So you've never met him?"

"Who?" She went back to picking out utensils and what not.

"His friend." He rolled his eyes as he responded.

"Oh! Yeah, we both have. Remember that kid that always wore the sweater vests? When we all went to camp that one year?" She went to the closet

"The one that always carried around a first aid kit?" Taichi heard her make a sound to affirm his guess. "Somehow he doesn't strike me as someone who'd turn 'cute.' Maybe geeky..."

"The years have been kind to him. He's almost done with school to become a doctor." She stood back into the room with a few bags in her hands. "Ready!"

"A doctor?" Taichi sighed. "I don't trust doctors."

"Yeah, yeah, let's go!" And with that, they went off to the park.

--

"This is a bit terrifying." Hikari whispered quietly to the group around her. Miyako, Iori, Takeru, Ken, and Daisuke all nodded while keeping their eyes on the scene before them.

"Dude...this is, like, the first sign of the apocalypse or something." Daisuke stated.

"Do you think hell is frozen over yet?" Miyako took a sip of her bottled green tea.

"I hear Sora and Mimi were placing bets on when they'll start dating." Iori stated calmly before noticing that his friends had turned their attention to him. "What?"

"Are you sure? I'm still getting over the shock of seeing them being civil towards each other." Ken raised a skeptical brow. "I think I'll make a safer bet."

"Really? You're on!" Daisuke leaned forward challenging. Hikari and Takeru shared a look and sighed.

"Daisuke, you idiot, you don't even know what you're betting!" Miyako glared at the burgundy haired boy who just stick his tongue out at her.

"I bet 2,000 yen that they'll snap and have a fight of epic proportions!" Daisuke shouted out.

"I'm in!" Takeru grinned and turned at Ken who was sitting quietly with Iori. Both of the calmer boys were watching the older 'former enemies' laugh at a joke Mimi had told. The two objects of their bet then said something to each other before turning towards Yamato's friend Jyou for his reply. "What about you two?"

"Well..." Iori and Ken looked at each other for a second of silent communication before nodding their heads. "I don't gamble." Iori said finally and left to go get a drink.

"I don't always approve of it either," Ken smiled at Daisuke, "but you usually lose at things like this so I'll place a bet that says they'll end up lovers."

"What?" Daisuke shook his head and looked at his role model, Taichi, before looking at Ken again. "No way! They're way worse then how me and TP--"

"--TK or Takeru, pick one--" "--Takeru _and I_--"

"--whatever," Daisuke waved off the interruptions and continued, "how we used to be. There's no way they'll end up dating!" The goggled boy turned to Hikari. "What about you Kari? Do you want to get some easy money from Ken?"

"No," Hikari smiled sweetly with Miyako, "we'll be taking _your_ money I'm afraid."

"Yeah, besides if they're worse than you and Takeru then maybe they'll be closer than you two after being friends." Miyako giggled with Hikari at her logic. "Count my money in."

"What's this? A betting pool? Gambling isn't good to start at such a young age." Mimi teased as she snuck up on them. "Besides, you shouldn't bet about your friends lives." She pulled out her wallet before Takeru and Daisuke could speak up. "I'll place my bet with the winning side, of course."

"This could end badly." Iori sat down again, armed with a drink and a disapproving glance to each of them. "Which is why I'm staying out of it."

--

Yamato sat in his living room that evening, staring at the television with confusion. This Thursday had been...interesting to say the least. In order for you to understand, we have to backtrack a few hours to the end of the picnic. We three-thirty came rolling around, the group decided to split up. The younger of the group went off to the mall. Jyou went with Koushiro, Mimi, and Miyako to do something somewhere without really telling anybody beyond "goodbye." Sora went off saying that she had to go to work since she promised her mom. That, suspiciously enough, left Yamato with Taichi. Alone. With no one else around.

"_Um, I have to go to work but I could actually hang out for about a half-hour or so. So... do you want to do something?" Taichi asked with a strange smile on his face._

"_Sure, I've got nothing else right now."_

And off they were. They spent that time walking around the park and just talking. Afterwards, Taichi walked Yamato home before going to work. That may not seem to be very confusing to most except for one small thing.

"It seemed like a date." Yamato whispered. "A date. With another guy. With _Taichi Yagami_." He growled out before chuckling at himself. "I'm being stupid. It was nothing. Just talking and then he," he paused before sighing, "before he walked me home. As if it were a date. With another guy. With _Taichi Yagami!_"

After a few moments of replaying the day's events in his mind, the musician growled and plopped down all the way on the couch. "I'm making nothing of something--I mean, something out of _nothing._" He glared at the television as if it were the objects fault. "It was nothing. Just talking. We're not even really friends yet," he mumbled as his eyes drooped tiredly.

"_See you tomorrow then, Yama! I had fun today."_

"_My Yama."_

He snapped his eyes open with a gasp. "Ah shit..." he moaned and preceded to try and bury his head with a cushion.

TBC

* * *

Sorry I've been so long about this...life sucks XD Didn't like this chapter too much but that's because I'm too busy thinking about the next chapter...review and tell me what you think 


	6. Words I Couldn't Say by Rascal Flatts

Okay…so having a job once again prevents me from writing. Though you'd think that as little amount of hours I get, I'd be able to write more. Sigh…oh well… Here goes…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon but I do own the song at the end. It's mine you can't have it! So there!

* * *

Closing Time  
By Moonlit Eyes  
Words I Couldn't Say by Rascal Flatts  
"_There it was at the tip of my fingers  
There it was on the tip of my tongue  
There you were and I had never been that far  
There it was the whole world wrapped inside my arms  
And I let it all slip away –"_

Yamato sat on Taichi's bed looking through the other's CD case. It was Monday and both were bored out of their minds trying to find something to do. Everyone else was mysteriously busy and had all suggested that Yamato go 'hang out' with Taichi at his apartment. Yamato didn't really mind the suggestion. After all, both were getting along rather well and he figured between the two of them they'd figure out _something_ to do that was cheap and entertaining.

"I'm so bored!" Taichi moaned pitifully in front of his computer. "And no one's online to chat!"

"That's kinda why I'm here," Yamato rolled his eyes and turned back to the CD's in his lap. "You only listen to punk?"

"What?" Taichi looked around for a second before grabbing three more thick CD books at placed them next to the blond. "J-pop. Classical. Visual K." The bartender pointed to each one respectively as he spoke. He took a seat not far from the other.

"Visual K?" Yamato raised an eyebrow.

"What? They're hot." Taichi began to play with his toy slinky next to the bed.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't my real question." Yamato picked up the thickest book. "Classical? As in…"

"You know, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart." Taichi tilted his head thoughtfully. "I also have some Frank Sinatra, John Coltrane, and some other jazz people in there too, though. So I guess it's a Classical slash Jazz collection." He shrugged and went back to his slinky. Yamato opted to stare at the other. Taichi Yagami, jock extraordinaire, listens to the likes of Mozart? "You don't have to stare."

"What?" Yamato snapped his head away. "Oh, um, I didn't mean to. It's just that…well, I--"

"Didn't expect me to listen to something that takes thought?" Taichi just grinned. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Yamato looked down for a second, suddenly awkward, before going through one of the books. "Alice9? Can we listen to it?"

"Yeah." Taichi grinned and popped the VK band into his CD player. "So…"

"Yeah…" They shared a nervous smile and looked around uncomfortably.

"Um…we could see a movie?" Taichi supplied helpfully.

"With what money?" Yamato raised an eyebrow before they shared a sigh.

"We could hang out at the mall…" Taichi turned gloomy when he remembered their dilemma, "and stare at the things we can't buy right now." He leaned against the wall. "TV?"

"Nothings on today." Yamato said instantly.

"You haven't even looked." The brunette mumbled. "We could eat something."

"Then what?"

"Go for a walk?"

"Nah."

"Bother Sora at her shop?"

"No way."

"Hang ourselves?"

"What the--" Yamato shot Taichi an odd look only to receive a shrug as an answer.

"I can't think of anything." The bartender turned back to his toy.

"There has to something here we can do!" Yamato nearly snapped.

"Well you've shot down my ideas! I don't hear you coming up with anything." Taichi sat up and glared at the other on his bed. Old tension began to build between the two thickly.

"I tried when I came here but you seem too good for _my_ suggestions!" Yamato felt a sneer form on his face.

"Oh, going to a poetry reading. Yeah, just the way to spend my Monday." Taichi leaned forward, forgetting his toy as it fell to the floor.

"Oh, forgot. Poetry might be a tad too deep for a jock like you." Yamato ground out as it leaned forward too. The CD's in his lap fell to the floor and a few scattered out of the cases.

"Hey! Watch it! Some of those are imports!" Taichi yelled, but made no move to pick them up.

"Import, big word for you." Yamato turned his body better, though he wasn't sure it was a good way to keep from punching the other.

"Jeez, you're wit sure dulled after high school. Gotten a little slow in your old age?" Taichi smirked. Yamato growled and threw a punch, but Taichi caught his wrist before it hit his face.

"Screw you, Yagami." Yamato nearly growled again.

"Finally, a good suggestion." Taichi said before he pulled Yamato on top of him and started to kiss the other. Yamato was shocked at first, but he began to kiss back once he felt a hand sneak into his shirt. The kisses weren't the gentle, caring type. To the two boys on the bed, it was a new way to prove to the other who was better. Taichi moved his mouth lower to Yamato's neck and bit down without any thought to the other. Yamato gasped in pain before digging his fingernails into the other's back in an attempt to 'get back.'

"Da-damn you," Yamato gasped out and pinned the other to the bed. He ripped the other's shirt opening, ignoring a cry about it being Taichi's favorite, and began to assault the exposed tanned collarbone. The feeling of teeth was so painful, it felt good to Taichi. People hadn't treated him other than glass since the accident. Finally, somebody was being rough and, with a grin on his face, he was ready to give as good as he got. With a rough yank on blond hair, he pulled Yamato's lips away from his skin, nearly whimpering at the lack of contact, before fastening himself to the neglected half of the pale neck before him.

"O-ow," Yamato said breathlessly, clamping hard onto the other's forearms, trying to give his hair a break.

"Shut up, you know you want this," Taichi purred and laughed as his arms were pinned to the bed. He knew he'd have bruises there later, but frankly he didn't care at the moment. In fact, he didn't care about much of anything as his lips were suddenly captured and ravished pleasantly, painfully slow.

"I bit your lip open…" Yamato murmured, looking his handiwork. A second later he was licking away what little blood there was from the cut.

"Vampire? Kinky…" was all Taichi could manage out. "Yeah…kinky Yama…my Yama…" He whimpered as the other pulled away.

"What did you just call me?" Yamato said, still trying to catch his breath. Before Taichi could answer, however, the sound of the front door closing had them snapping their heads to the direction of the hall.

"I'm home!" Sora's voice rang through the apartment. The two sprang apart and stared at each other in horror.

"What just happened?" Yamato burst out.

"I--I…" Taichi stuttered out before looking at the red spots that littered across pale flesh. Yamato blushed and covered his neck with his hands. The blond was trying not to look at the bruises, scratches, ripped shirt…_oh god, his lip looks like I bit it harder than I thought, _Yamato nearly groaned at the fresh memory.

"Is that all you're going to say?" The blond heard a noise from the kitchen. "Forget it, I need to get out of here." And he dashed out of the room. Taichi just stared dumbly at the door. A second later he shut off the light, allowing the sun filtering through the blinds to be the only illumination, before crawling under the blankets.

"Taichi! Did you two fight?" Sora's scolding voice entered the room. Taichi just pulled the blankets tighter around him, hoping that Sora didn't see the torn remains of his previously favorite shirt…or maybe it was still his favorite? "What happened?" He just shook his head. "What's wrong?"

"I don't feel so good," _you showed up a little too soon_, "I just want to go to sleep," _after I take care of a certain problem,_ "so could you just let me sleep for now, Sora?"

She sighed, "Fine. But I want to hear details later. I'm not taking no for an answer!" A click was heard after, and Taichi knew she left.

"What just happened?" Taichi repeated Yamato's question. "What happened is…I want you. I think I want all of you. I think I want you to be near me always." He whispered quietly into the room.

_Suddenly she gasped and turned to Taichi. "You like him. I mean, you really like _like _him!"_

Taichi moaned pitifully and covered him head with a pillow. "Damn you Sonya." He didn't even want to think about how the girls would react if they found out about this. After all, it was bad enough that their words seemed to haunt him.

--

Meanwhile, Yamato was running towards his apartment in an attempt to get as much distance between him and the brunette bartender as possible.

"What the hell! What the hell! What the _hell_!" He shouted, ignoring the looks he received. He'd just made out with a guy. Strike that. He just made out with _Taichi Yagami_. The bane of his life. Well, former bane of his life, now awkward friend…

'…_with benefits,'_ a mischievous voice piped up in his mind. Yamato ran into a café and sat down at an empty table, assured that no one he knew would be in there right then. His mind, however, was still running. It ran to images of sun-kissed skin and chocolate colored hair. It ran to scents of clothes with cologne and sheets with fabric softener. It ran to feelings of abuse from careless hands and pleasure from an experienced tongue. It ran to--

"Can I get you something?" A voice said sweetly and Yamato jumped from his fantasies with a start. With a quick glance at the waiter, he suddenly thanked whatever higher power that the table was set up in such a way that it provided a much needed cover.

"Um…yeah, a bagel and some coffee," he said as smoothly as he could. The male before him nodded his head with a roll of the eyes.

"Usual, right?" Yamato looked at the other, wondering if he came in often enough to have a usual before realizing that he did.

"Yeah," Yamato said cool and calm as the other walked away cheerfully. He turned his attention back to the table where his bare arms were crossed on top. Wait, bare arms? Wasn't he wearing a thin, cotton, _long-sleeved _shirt over his tee? "What happened to--" he mumbled before a sudden memory reminded him that it had been hastily taken off not ten minutes ago. Yamato groaned pitifully and, suddenly forgetting about 'image,' dropped his head onto the table with a _thunk._

"What the hell…" he moaned to himself again.

He was so not going back for the shirt.

--

"So, wait, you mean that's all you're going to tell me is that you want to go out with him?" Sora stared at Taichi in disbelief. Taichi just ignored her and slipped on his vest. It was now Tuesday and therefore he had work.

"What do you mean, 'that's all?'" He began to work on the buttons. "I thought that would be gossip enough for you. Wait, it's not gossip." Taichi turned to look at her seriously. "You are forbidden to tell anyone. As your best friend, I'm enforcing my right to order you to keep your big mouth shut."

"Fine," Sora sighed, "But at least tell me the good stuff. I mean, the decision to ask someone out, considering your history, is a pretty big decision."

"Nothing happened," Taichi sat down next to her on his bed.

"Yeah, right." She eyed him suspiciously. With a dramatic sigh, he reached down and pulled out a black button up shirt and threw it at her. "Wait, I don't remember you having a…oh my…"

"Yeah, he left it." Taichi looked away while trying not to blush.

"Wait, a second," she leaned forward gleefully. "How did you reopen the cut on your lip? Did he punch you again?" Sora nearly groaned remembering how Taichi's lip was split a mere week ago due to the two males 'saying hello.'

"He bit me." Taichi, not an ounce of embarrassment in his voice. Though a faint blush on his checks told a different story.

"He _bit_ you?" Sora said gleefully, feeling like a teenage girl just discovering romance novels.

"Yeah," Taichi throwing himself onto the bed and crossing his arms behind his back. "I wouldn't mind a replay of events either," he said wistfully before covering his eyes with one arm. "And that brings us to my current dilemma."

"What dilemma?" Sora huffed. "You've never had a problem with asking anyone out. Why should this be any different?"

"It's different because it's the same guy I've hated up till he showed his face at Obsidian." He sighed dramatically. "What am I supposed to say? 'Hey, I know we used to be at each other's throats trying to strangle each other, but can we change that and be at each other's throats trying to make out?' I don't think that will cut it."

"Well it should. I mean, you've done that once already obviously." Sora giggled before laying down with her head on his stomach. "You'll think of something, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I guess." Taichi smiled before feeling more confidant. "Yeah, I will. I'll ask him out this Friday night, before his show."

"There's that Taichi Courage we all know and love!" Sora sat up, pulling him with her. "Now, use that courage and go face your boss when you show up twenty minutes late to work."

"What! Shit, I gotta go!" He stood up quickly and rushed around to gather his things before heading off to Obsidian.

--

Meanwhile, in a lonely apartment, Yamato sat with his Penny Lane while working on his song. It would be ready for Friday, he decided. After all, he had just gotten the best inspiration to finish it the day before.

"When we met, I thought I knew you…When we kissed, I knew I did…" Yamato sang out before stopping to write a few notes down. Pleased with what he wrote, he continued to work on the cords once again. "I still remember how we looked yesterday…Though it's different now today…"

--

Taichi remembers the first time he asked a guy out. He was sweet sixteen and nervous as all hell. His stomach fluttered from butterflies. His lips moist from licking them too much. His hands nearly shook when they weren't tightly clutched. By the time he stood in front of the object of his then obsession, he was sure his heart would burst from his chest and he'd faint. But he didn't let it show. He couldn't, it just wasn't his way. So instead he held in his turmoil and said confidently, "I've liked you for a while, Saburo-san. Would you go out with me?"

It ended with a punch in the face and a lifelong lesson. Since then, he'd learned that whatever happens, happens. Just go for it. Of course he usually always practiced this philosophy, but until then he'd never thought to apply it to the dating world. After that he showed no hint of hesitation what so ever. Even a few times he dared to kiss and whisper a few suggestive things in other boys' ears before ever saying his name. He'd become highly assured of his sexuality, allowing his Yagami Charm to take over and do the work for him. Taichi thought he'd never worry about asking someone else out again since the Saburo-san incident. That is, he never counted on one thing…

"Leave it to Yamato Ishida to turn screw it up," Sonya smirked as she sat with Taichi in the back room.

"Screw what up?" He said distractedly from his place in front of the mirror.

"The 'it' thing you got. The thing that keeps men falling at your feet after you introduce yourself." Sonya's eyes turned dreamy. "Oh, it's so sweet."

"Shut up!" Taichi muttered, his cheeks stained a pretty pink. "Just don't start calling me Romeo like Mimi." He gave her reflection a stern look. Taichi was, of course, referring to the nickname Mimi gave him when he, in a slightly intoxicated state, said he could romance anyone no matter the circumstance.

"Ch, why would I do that?" Sonya jumped up a box she'd been sitting on. "Doesn't Romeo die at the end of the play?" She glanced at her wrist watch. "It's a quarter to, he should be here and ready."

"Okay," he sucked in a deep breath. "Wish me luck."

"Yeah, yeah, break a leg." They started to move towards the door before she stopped him. "Wait, you stay here and I'll tell him to meet you. More privacy that way."

"Yeah, good idea." Taichi nodded enthusiastically. Sonya just grinned at his excitement. "I'll be back."

"Okay." He watched her leave the room and turned to the mirror again. "Here goes…"

--

When Yamato walked into the backroom, Taichi was facing the other way. He took a second to compose himself better. He could do this, he'd practiced all week for this. He had to say this, otherwise things would just get bad. Right?

"Yama?" Taichi turned around with a nervous smile. "Hey, um, I was needing to talk to you. Look, I was wondering--"

"Stop. Just," Yamato sighed. "Here's the deal: it didn't mean anything. So let's just forget about it, okay? I kinda like being friends and don't want this to ruin anything." Yamato wasn't looking at the other as he spoke, so he missed the look of disappointment and hurt that fluttered across the bartender's face. Instead he was busy hoping that Taichi would buy his words and not hold this against him. Yamato was sure he'd die of embarrassment if Taichi knew he was in lov--liked him, if Taichi knew he _liked_ him.

After all, Yamato knew there was no way the other would return his feelings.

"Right. Yes," Taichi said softly. "Yes, let's just forget this happened and moved on. It was a fit of boredom and maybe we'll laugh about it later, right?"

"Right." Yamato still couldn't bring himself to really look at the other. "Um, I have to--"

"Yeah, you'd better go. Boss will kill you if you're late starting." Taichi turned back around as Yamato left the room. That was that, he thought. Taichi Yagami would never know Yamato's deepest secret. He would take his secret with him to the grave. Even if it was the secret that put him in that grave.

What he didn't know was that at the same moment, Taichi was thinking the same thing.

--

Twenty minutes later found Sonya scrubbing away spilt beer from the counter-top angrily. She was pissed at Taichi. After Yamato had left the room, she'd gone in to get the juicy details. Instead, all she got was a sad brunette.

"_Would you cover for me, Sonya? Just tell Boss I'm sick and went home, kay?" Taichi grabbed his jacket and walked towards the backdoor._

"_What? Why? What happened?" She started towards him but stopped at his next words._

"_Romeo just died." _

Of course she wasn't upset with him for being brokenhearted. She _was_, however, angry that he left her and the two other bartenders with more work than usual. Then, also, was her other reason for being upset: Yagami Ishida. Not only was she mad at him for being indirectly responsible for her heaver workload, but he also hurt Taichi who was her favorite co-worker. Then, just so she could muster up enough irritation to really give it to him good later, she decided to blame him for the times his band mates would tease her Russian accent in school.

"Okay, this song is something I wrote in high school but I've never sang it before. Some things recently have made me decide to sing it for you." A round of applause interrupted before he continued. "I hope you enjoy it. It's called Destiny But Backwards." Yamato's voice said over the microphone. Sonya threw down the rag in annoyance at just the sound of him talking.

"Oh that's a stupid name for a song. Is it trying to be all deep and stuff?" She muttered under her breath but listened as she worked later. Halfway through, however, she felt a change of heart suddenly. She decided to call Sora and tell the girl what she knew. Sora would know what to do better since she was a lot closer with Taichi then Sonya. That's what she hoped anyway.

"_I still remember how we looked yesterday  
__Though it's different now today  
__I still remember how your voice used to be  
__But it's softened with age  
__I still remember that look in your eyes  
__But it changed this morning when we said good bye_

_When we met, I thought I knew you  
__When we kissed, I knew I did  
__You asked me to describe you  
__I'm not sure you liked the answer_

_It's to late to turn back though  
__And I know my words were right_

_I said "You're like something that wasn't meant to be  
__While feeling like it was  
__Like rain in the summer that cools my fire  
__And makes me real  
__You're like a nightmare that's sweeter than any  
__Dream I've ever had  
__You're like destiny but backwards…"_

_And how can that be right  
__Didn't destiny bring us together?  
__But this wasn't meant to happen  
__It was almost a mistake  
__It hurt you when I said that_

_But it's too late to turn back though  
__And I know my words were right_

"_Like destiny but backwards…"  
__It's the only way to describe it  
__I said "You're like something that wasn't meant to be  
__While feeling like it was  
__Like rain in the summer that cools my fire  
__And makes me real  
__You're like a nightmare that sweeter than any  
__Dream I've ever had  
__You're like destiny but backwards…"_

_Yes destiny…  
__But backwards…"

* * *

_

TBC

WOO! An update! Go me! Thanks for the reviews! Means a lot! I tried to write a longer chapter since I took so long…well, at least it was a good chapter, ne? I hope so


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